Rocky Mountain National Park

Probably still a bit of snow there at this time frame.

The Lost Creek Wilderness is a favorite for many people that time of the year.

If you are flying in (?) consider adjusting your flight to ABQ and look at the Pecos Wilderness in northern New Mexico. 13k ft peaks, alpine lakes, big horns and great wildflowers. Should be a good fit for your time frame.

Hi Paul,
thanks for reply,
This is going to be my first time backpacking in CO. I have a meeting in Boulder, and I will have few days to do this hiking. I will drive from MO.
Is Lost Creek Wilderness, is there recommended loops?
I wil have my car. so I prefer loops. Is it similar to RMNP where you plan your route?
are campsites already designated?
I have never traveled off trails, and always stay in campsites, I dont have that much experience when it comes to do off trail hiking.
Thanks.

Lost Creek has opportunities to link loops into whatever length you want. It's a Wilderness, so no reservations needed.

But it is also not really the classic Colorado experience- it's not alpine. It's almost at times more red rocks, with forrest.

Ouzel and Finch Lakes out of Wild Basin are not on a loop, but you could do a tour of them with just a few miles of backtracking. They are well below tree line and might not be too snowy if we have a dry, warm May. But they will be soggy at best, if not downright snowy.

As Mags said, the LCW is the go-to early season backpacking destination along the front range. It is not alpine, but is quite beautiful and there are good views of Pikes Peak and the Collegiates from the west side, and South Park and Mt Evans in the north. Be advised that some of the southern trail heads, like Goose Creek, can take a surprisingly long time (close to 3 hrs) to drive to from Boulder.

I'd call it closer to 2 hours to go from Boulder to Goose Creek TH, Drew. I'm on the way and it'as about an hour to each from my my house.

Goose Creek is the loop to do in LCW if you're going only do one. It's the most scenic part. It is the most crowded part of the Wilderness but it will be early so it shouldn't be too bad at that time.

thanks to all of you,
only three questions please:
1- Is bear canister needed, or should I hang food?
2- I have a small car, is the Trail Head at Goose trail reachable by small cars?
3- Are there designated camps sites? or just to camp where ever as long as away from trail and water ?

1-Just hang your food.
2-A small car is fine. The dirt roads can get washboardy in spots, but I've done it several times in a Honda Civic.
3-No designated campsites. Camp wherever.

"thanks to all of you,
only three questions please:
1- Is bear canister needed, or should I hang food?
2- I have a small car, is the Trail Head at Goose trail reachable by small cars?
3- Are there designated camps sites? or just to camp where ever as long as away from trail and water ?"

1. No bear can required or needed. In some places it's a bit of a challenge to find a good tree for bear bagging. Just takes a little more looking.

2. No problem. I've even taken my wife's low clearance car to that trail head.

3. There are not designated camp sites but there are many well established sites. Quite a few less than 100' from water or trail. I asked the forest service about it and they said due to the high use of the area, they preferred people to use the well establish sites. In the canyon portions it's pretty hard to get 100' away. When you're out of the canyon, you can more easily do so.

PM me if you want more detailed info.

I just got back from Pecos Wilderness, just a great place. Thanks for suggestion.